Pauri burn victim cremated

SCPCR orders for providing free legal help and compensation for victim’s family

The 18- year- old burn victim of Pauri was given a teary farewell during her cremation near her ancestral village on Monday. The girl had succumbed to her injuries after battling for life for seven days at Safardarjung Hospital in New Delhi on Sunday. A large number of locals and relatives of the victim attended the funeral which was held on the bank of Nayar river near the ancestral village of the victim. The uncle of the victim lit the funeral pyre. Meanwhile, students in Pauri and other towns held protest meetings on the day where anguish on the barbaric crime was vented.

Taking cognizance of the incident, the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) directed the district legal services authority ( DLSA) of Pauri to ensure that free legal help is provided to the family members of Pauri burn victim in their legal battle. In an order, the under-secretary SCPCR, Kamini Gupta said that necessary action should be taken to provide compensation to the victim’s family from the Nirbhaya fund.

The incident had occurred in Pauri on December 16 as the girl, a resident of Peepli village located in Kapolsyun Patti of Pauri, had been set ablaze by a stalker when she was returning home from her college. The accused, a taxi driver, had allegedly dragged her to the roadside where he tried to sexually assault her. On resistance, he had reportedly doused her with petrol and set her on fire. The girl had been rushed to the district hospital Pauri and Srinagar Medical College Hospital before being admitted at AIIMS Rishikesh with around 80 percent burns. Later, she had been air lifted to Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi following instruction from the chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat.